It is located in Largo Barriera Vecchia, an area whose buildings represent the flowering of Late Neoclassical style in Trieste.

The shop was originally a café for enjoying a quick treat. Over time however, with intellectuals and gourmands, it became a true Trieste institution.

It quickly became popular with the nobility and bourgeoisie, and was also frequented by intellectuals and scholars. In fact, it was in this very pastry shop that James Joyce began writing his Ulysses.